Entertainment

Outrage Spreads: Was Women's Figure Skating Rigged in Sochi?

Adelina Sotnikova of Russia, centre, her coach Elena Buianova, right, and choreographer Irina Tagaeva react in the results area after she completed her routine in the women's free skate figure skating finals at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20.

Ain't no drama like figure skating drama, folks. A major controversy is surrounding Russian Adelina Sotnikova's figure skating gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Sochi on Thursday.

Many people, from figure skating insiders to peripheral fans of the sport, think her win was a fix and fan favorite Yuna Kim got royally snubbed. They're claiming the entire competition was just an elaborate Russian setup. As of Friday, in fact, more than 1.7 million think so.

A petition on Change.org, boasting more than 1.7 million signatures, is demanding an investigation of the result. It's the fastest-growing petition in the site's history — spreading quicker than the petition seeking prosecution in the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. The petition was adding more than 30,000 signatures per hour on Friday morning, and the site says they've come from "nearly every country in the world". But conspiracy theorists in tin foil hats aren't the only ones who are up in arms.

"If Adelina was not from Russia, she would never get those marks," Dave Lease, who runs The Skating Lesson figure skating blog, told The Wire.

Sotnikova, 17, finished in first, powered by a sterling free skate score of 149.95. Kim, from South Korea, finished second with a free skate score of 144.19. Italy's Carolina Kostner placed third with a free skate score of 142.61. Most agree that's a fine top three, but the order — and particularly Sotnikova's very high score — has raised questions.

People at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, watch a TV news showing Yuna Kim of South Korea at the women's free skate figure skating final during the 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 21.

Image: Ahn Young-joon/Associated Press

Sotnikova's score of 149.95 was just a hair below Kim's final score of 150.06 at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. But Kim's routine was generally regarded as flawless; the New York Times described it at the time as four minutes of uninterrupted "brilliance":

While Sotnikova's routine was impressive, it did not approach that same level of mastery, and Kim fans would argue it didn't even surpass the South Korean's performance from this year. (NBC has side-by-side video of Kim and Sotnikova's routines from Thursday, if you're curious.) Most analysts say Kim picked a less difficult routine, but Sotnikova's execution was imperfect, most notably marred by this stumble while landing a jump.

Sotnikova is not the only Russian skater whose high marks raised eyebrows. Fifteen-year-old sensation Yulia Lipnitskaya had a bad free skate featuring an ugly fall, yet finished fifth overall — ahead of other skaters who didn't fall at all.

Everything will soon circle back to figure skating's strange judging system, but first it's time for a tin foil hat break.

*Dons tin-foil hat*If there was ever a time for Russia's powers-that-be to dial in an Olympic fix, Thursday was it. Figure skating and hockey were Russia's two biggest hopes heading into the Olympics on their home turf.

The ultra-talented hockey team suffered a shocking loss in the hockey quarterfinals on Wednesday. Russian figure skating legend Evgeny Plushenko pulled out of the men's competition last week. A medal-less performance by the Russian women would have given the games' host nation a serious black eye on the sporting side of things. Then, to top it all off, rising violence in neighboring Ukraine had cast an ugly pall over the games for some this week.

So that's why — if there was ever a time for Russia's powers-that-be to dial in an Olympic fix — that time would have been Thursday.*Removes tin-foil hat*

Now, about that judging.

Adelina Sotnikova of Russia, center, Yuna Kim of South Korea, left, and Carolina Kostner of Italy celebrate with their national flags as they pose for photographers following the flower ceremony for the women's free skate figure skating final at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Image: Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press

Olympic figure skating relies on an anonymous judging system that's designed to reduce pressure on officials, but in effect raises the sport's level of controversy and suspicion. The nine judges' identities are all known, and you can see score cards from each judge, but you can't match score and judge.

Making matters more suspect are the identities of two of Thursday's judges. Ukrainian judge Yuri Balkov was busted at the 1998 Olympics after being caught on tape telling another judge the order contestants in an ice dancing contest should finish in before it had even started. A second judge on Thursday was Alla Shekhovtseva, who is Russian and married to a former president of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia.

"People need to be held accountable,” American figure skater Ashley Wagner said after Sotnikova's win on Thursday. “They need to get rid of anonymous judging. There are many changes that need to come to this sport if we want a fan base."

So, was Sotnikova's win a sham? We can't say for sure, although many red flags have been raised. Were Kim and Kostner treated unfairly? Probably. Is there anything we — or those 1.7 million Change.org signatories — can do it about? Not really. Well, except for one thing:

What's Hot

More in Entertainment

What's New

What's Rising

What's Hot

Mashable
is a leading source for news, information and resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable's record 42 million unique visitors worldwide and 21 million social media followers are one of the most influential and engaged online communities. Founded in 2005, Mashable is headquartered in New York City with an office in San Francisco.